The past decade the Western conference in the NBA has dominated the league.
The Eastern conference has not taken long to reply this decade. The thunderous threesome in Miami is relatively old news and they all came from the East anyway. However the loss of Boozer and Stoudemire from the Jazz and Suns weakened both teams enough to where playoffs are most likely not going to be in either ones immediate future.
Lebron James might still be disliked by some of you by his antics over the summer, but you cannot deny his ability to see the future. James had this to say after "Taking his talents to South Beach;
"We came here to team up and we knew we were starting a trend. Teams are going to have to load up because the competition level is rising." -Lebron James-
No denying that. Carmelo Anthony and Deron Williams have now joined in the party. Anthony to the Knicks and Williams to the Nets. Oh yeah the Knicks also got a veteran point guard who happens to be one of the best clutch shooters in Chauncey Billups.
So what remains in the West? Spurs, Lakers, Thunder, and the Mavericks(but we all know how Dallas will choke first or second round in the playoffs anyway).
Who does the East have? The Heat, Bulls, the newly improved Knicks(Atlanta has a better record then the Knick but i am not going to jump the gun on the Hawks and say they have proven themselves yet), the Magic, and of course the Celtics. Sure that is really only one more "elite" team that the East have that the West doesn't. But think of next year and two years from now. All the young talent is going East. The Lakers, Spurs, and Mavericks are aging, and the Blazers cannot stay healthy for longer then a quarter. The Thunder is the West's own team of the future currently. While every power team in the East is young, with the exception of Boston.
This decade might be a little different then the last. L.A. is not going to be getting championship parades every other year or any other Western conference team. If you want to be under the spotlight in the NBA, go East.
Wednesday, February 23, 2011
Sunday, February 13, 2011
Rooney Kicks The Critics
Yes, I am writing about soccer. Living in Europe for several months straight will do that. I do not believe I will ever go away from following "the beautiful game". It has to do with better understanding of the game and my obsession with anything to do with sport and competitiveness.
Wayne Rooney, plagued in recent months with injuries and being benched following a worse then poor performance in the World Cup, might have quieted all of his critics with one kick. Well maybe not all of them, but he has to have come close to it. In case you are not sure what "kick" I am talking about, see the video below.
The context of this goal makes it even better, if that is even possible. This heated rivalry between Manchester United and Manchester City is the first time in a few decades that the game could affect the league champion between the two teams. Man U was number one and Man City was third and only five points (a victory counts as three and a tie as one in the league standings) away from Man U.
Fast forward to the 78th minute, the score is tied 1-1 and it almost looked like Man City was about to take the momentum and the lead. Until Mr Rooney unleashed the best timed bicycle kick in the history of the game. It was so utterly ridiculous that the goalie did not even move his feet. Even if he had reacted however, the reply shows how Rooney placed the ball in the top right corner of the net, making it almost, if not entirely, physically impossible for it to be saved anyway.
That was only Rooney's fifth goal in the Premier league this season, but it was one that could have very well clinched the league title for Man U. If anyone deserved it, it was Rooney. I have been watching and playing sports my whole life, and even though I have only picked up watching and playing soccer in the past few months I could still tell that Rooney is one of the hardest working players on the field. If there was ever a chance for him to get the ball of make a play he never passed on the opportunity to at least try and make something happen. I think that Lionel Messi's quote about Rooney's passion for the game sums up my point well;
"We all know football players at the top level are blessed with high wages, it's no secret. But Rooney would play for 100 euros-a-week. You can see the fire in his eyes. It's that fire which makes him the best of the best."
So to all of those who did not believe in Rooney, I myself was a little concerned but never stopped rooting simply because of the passion and energy he brings, take another look at the video above and tip your hat at one of the worlds best.
Wayne Rooney, plagued in recent months with injuries and being benched following a worse then poor performance in the World Cup, might have quieted all of his critics with one kick. Well maybe not all of them, but he has to have come close to it. In case you are not sure what "kick" I am talking about, see the video below.
The context of this goal makes it even better, if that is even possible. This heated rivalry between Manchester United and Manchester City is the first time in a few decades that the game could affect the league champion between the two teams. Man U was number one and Man City was third and only five points (a victory counts as three and a tie as one in the league standings) away from Man U.
Fast forward to the 78th minute, the score is tied 1-1 and it almost looked like Man City was about to take the momentum and the lead. Until Mr Rooney unleashed the best timed bicycle kick in the history of the game. It was so utterly ridiculous that the goalie did not even move his feet. Even if he had reacted however, the reply shows how Rooney placed the ball in the top right corner of the net, making it almost, if not entirely, physically impossible for it to be saved anyway.
That was only Rooney's fifth goal in the Premier league this season, but it was one that could have very well clinched the league title for Man U. If anyone deserved it, it was Rooney. I have been watching and playing sports my whole life, and even though I have only picked up watching and playing soccer in the past few months I could still tell that Rooney is one of the hardest working players on the field. If there was ever a chance for him to get the ball of make a play he never passed on the opportunity to at least try and make something happen. I think that Lionel Messi's quote about Rooney's passion for the game sums up my point well;
"We all know football players at the top level are blessed with high wages, it's no secret. But Rooney would play for 100 euros-a-week. You can see the fire in his eyes. It's that fire which makes him the best of the best."
So to all of those who did not believe in Rooney, I myself was a little concerned but never stopped rooting simply because of the passion and energy he brings, take another look at the video above and tip your hat at one of the worlds best.
Wednesday, February 2, 2011
"Decision 2011"
Oh what has become of our instant news and media information society. Signing day has begun in the college football world and as I logged into the ESPN homepage the front story and video is how Jadeveon Clowney, the number 1 prospect according to ESPN, has still not committed. Clowney seems like a stand up guy, nothing against him at all, however do we need to turn this into "decision" part 2?
Let me play devils advocate for a second. Maybe we do need it, or at least we want it. Both Lebron's "decision" and Clowney's would not be front page stories if nobody cared. As sports fans, fans as in fanatics, we are always wanting to know more and hear about it first. So going to the source is really the best way to go about it.
Minute to minute updates might be a bit overboard at the same time however. Yet I am sitting here writing a blog within five minutes of watching the video and giving my opinion on it. I guess I just need to stop being so hypocritical and enjoy the fact we have the ability to have a "decision" 2010 or 2011.
Let me play devils advocate for a second. Maybe we do need it, or at least we want it. Both Lebron's "decision" and Clowney's would not be front page stories if nobody cared. As sports fans, fans as in fanatics, we are always wanting to know more and hear about it first. So going to the source is really the best way to go about it.
Minute to minute updates might be a bit overboard at the same time however. Yet I am sitting here writing a blog within five minutes of watching the video and giving my opinion on it. I guess I just need to stop being so hypocritical and enjoy the fact we have the ability to have a "decision" 2010 or 2011.
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